Blockbuster best-sellers rarely impress me. I recently tackled ‘The Godfather’ and found it long-winded, info-dumpy, and full of ‘telling,’ with characters who are more like caricatures.
Puzo was primarily a screenwriter, not a novelist, so I understand that he was just getting the story out, without a great deal of thought as to style. ‘The Godfather’ really works better as a movie. As a novel, it was a ‘did-not-finish.’
Maybe I’ll read a little Evelyn Waugh now to clear my palette and remind myself what good writing is like.
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